Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie premiered on November 24 on Nickelodeon, TeenNick, and Nicktoons after a fourteen year cancellation and a long fight to green light the movie. Fans and critics were satisfied, as proven by the ratings (an average of 1.63 million viewers the day it aired). Although fans have celebrated for the climax they had hungered for, the fight is still not over, for they now want a Season 6 of Hey Arnold.
Which leads me to this question. Is a Season 6 really necessary?
Before I express my own opinion on the matter, I would like to express my own satisfaction of Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie myself. Although I wouldn't consider it one of the "greatest movies ever made," I will admit that it was amazing. When I reviewed it on Linkedin, I expressed how I enjoyed the animation, the casting, and the thrills we'd been waiting for. I also loved the romantic undertones of our favorite characters and the suspense that keeps us at the edge of our seats.
The Jungle Movie was totally different to what I expected from the original T.V. series. I'll admit there are some flaws with the movie, such as the ending being a little rushed and the little interaction I get to see from other characters such as Sid, Stinky, and Harold; maybe even Olga, but it still had some satisfying twists and turns, making me think that this movie was designed for us to have a Season 6.
What I least expected from the movie was the apparent death of a few characters. One person was shot by arrows (thankfully, what they showed was subtle), one fell down a cliff, and others were crushed to death by stones. It was surprising that they were able to retain the comedic elements of the original T.V. series in spite of that. Not that the deaths of the characters were necessarily funny, but that it shows that even the world of Hey Arnold is full of life-threatening situations. Other characteristics include homelessness, dysfunctional families, emotional conflicts, and tested friendships.
I was especially satisfied with the ending and how it all turned out. All the characters return to their original peaceful lives, along with a few great changes in between. Relationships develop between Arnold and Helga and Gerald and Phoebe, and the revelation of the fate of Arnold's parents (SPOILER ALERT), who were alive this whole time, in good spirits, and returned with Arnold at the boarding house.
The ending has left me questioning. It makes me wonder how Arnold would be interacting with his parents now that they are back with their son. It is apparent they are overprotective, since they fell under the sleeping sickness for almost ten years, when Arnold was still an infant. They even walked Arnold to school with his friends, seemingly waiting at the entrance of his school to pick him up later even though school wouldn't end until later in the afternoon. I am also interested in the development of Arnold and Helga's relationship. Although it is highly implied in the end that they became a couple, Helga is still hesitant on displaying public affection for Arnold, retaining her bullying behavior towards him. Arnold, of course, didn't seem to mind.
Now for the most important question. Is a Season 6 of Hey Arnold! really necessary?
To be honest, I don't think so. All of our questions have basically been answered. However, I will admit it would definitely be beneficial if a Season 6 were to occur, based on my curiosity which I have expressed in this blog.
I would like to see how Arnold really handles his "secret" relationship with Helga, or whether or not they are compatible enough at such a young age to start a relationship. Although I believe they are meant for each other, I also believe they will have some issues along the way, just like all relationships do. I am also curious about whether or not Helga will openly confess her relationship with Arnold to her classmates. Although, it might not really be a surprise if her classmates are already aware of the relationship, which makes it even funnier!
If a Season 6 were to occur, I would definitely like to see a lot more of Miles and Stella. Their reunion with the members of the boarding house - especially Grandma and Grandpa - wasn't shown much in the movie. The only thing we see are Miles and Stella serving breakfast to the residents and Grandpa Phil commenting about their decade long absence. I would definitely like to see how Miles and Stella would handle the situations of the residents, since it seems as though they are assisting Arnold's grandparents with keeping the boarding house organized.
Again, I don't think it is necessary for Hey Arnold to have a Season 6, but I would be satisfied nonetheless. In fact, I do believe it is capable for a Season 6 since ratings for The Jungle Movie were satisfying, reviews were good, and the character development was fairly interesting.
Please leave a comment below if you believe there should be a Season 6 of Hey Arnold! I would definitely appreciate your opinions.
I agree that a 6th season isn't necessary, it's more that it would be interesting to see how things are handled. Arnold's relationship with his parents and Helga, how much his parents adjusting to normal life and making up for their long absence is addressed (or the opposite- they take over ownership of the boarding house and become busy with that or they continue doing humanitarian work), and how the show would keep what made the original great while being modern and entertaining for today's kids. They'll probably devote some focus to developing Arnold and Helga as a couple and I'll bet they show Arnold feeling appreciative and loving towards his parents but also feeling the need for space because they probably spend a ton of time with him, but the other characters can't be forgotten either. There's several directions that things could be taken in, but there's a real opportunity for a reboot to once again be a show that provides humor and fun characters while also being relatable, real, and sometimes making us think or cry like the original, this time for a new audience. The movie gave us the closure we've been looking for and reunited Arnold and his parents and made him realize Helga's love and seemingly his own love, so if a reboot doesn't happen then at least we were left on a very high note. From what I've read Nick was considering a reboot before greenlighting the movie, but they do have some concerns about attracting their target demo and not just the now-adult fans.
ReplyDeleteAnother question is should the series continue on- will it eventually be revealed that the events of the movie and even the whole story with his parents was really just a dream or a story with exaggerations? I feel the movie did leave that possibility open, given how fantasized everything with them was and Grandpa made up things in the stories he told Arnold.